WWE’s ticket pricing strategy has been put on blast.
Beyond his success as an actor and comedian, Paul Walter Hauser has also carved out a notable presence in professional wrestling. After making his in-ring debut for Pro Wrestling REVOLVER in 2023, Hauser has gone on to serve as an executive producer for Major League Wrestling while continuing to make occasional in-ring appearances across the wrestling scene.
Speaking to TMZ’s Inside The Ring, Hauser issued a scathing critique of WWE’s recent ticket pricing, labelling the company ‘greedy’ and likening them to the villainous banker from the classic film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.
“Times are tougher than they used to be, but the prices are going up. There’s no real humanity from a corporate perspective. To me, that’s like Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life. You’re getting greedy. Ugly. You’re being ugly by doing that. Be a real person, you dick. How about you do this? Netflix, how about you give a 30% off coupon for the full year to military veterans. These are things that people can easily do. They choose not to because they don’t actually give a shit.”
-Paul Walter Hauser
Elsewhere in the interview, Hauser suggested that the rest of the wrestling world unite to present an alternative event to WWE’s WrestleMania 43, which is set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I would love to see WrestleMania weekend in freaking Riyadh or wherever it is. I would love to see MLW, CMLL, New Japan, AEW, Progress Wrestling, DEFY, GCW, whoever, come together and do a mega show, and sell out a 20,000-30,000-seat place. If all egos can go away… there’s a lot of big business to be done somewhere.”
-Paul Walter Hauser
A passionate advocate for independent wrestling, Hauser has competed for promotions such as DEFY and ACTION, most recently appearing at ROH’s Death Before Dishonor on August 29, where he lost to QT Marshall.
Hauser also currently holds PROGRESS Wrestling’s Proteus Championship, which he proudly showcased at the world premiere of Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ in Los Angeles this past July.
Despite Hauser’s criticism, WWE’s ticket prices appear set to keep climbing, with TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro recently stating that the company is still not ‘maximising the opportunity’ when compared to UFC’s pricing strategy.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on WWE’s pricing strategy and their ongoing partnership with Saudi Arabia as soon as we hear more.
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
